Patients heave sigh of relief as Resident Doctors resume work

Resident Doctors in tertiary hospitals have resumed work in some states of the North-West on Wednesday in compliance with the directive of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD).

The association ordered its members to down tools 64 days ago, insisting that some demands put forward to the Federal Government must be satisfied.

NAN checks in Kaduna, Kano, Kebbi and Zamfara states indicated that normalcy had returned, with patients trooping to some tertiary hospitals for treatment.

Patients at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital have expressed happiness with the suspension of the strike.

Mr. Usman Abubakar, a patient who suffers from kidney failure, said the staying in long queue during clinical days, was traumatic.

He said despite the efforts of the Consultants who tried to fill the vacuum, the prolonged strike made it difficult for them.

Another patient, who suffers from sickle cell ailment, Miss Umma Habib, said the strike created an unforgettable hardship for people like her, who had to attend routine clinics.

“We had terrible congestion due to limited Doctors, and also, we encountered difficulty at the laboratories too.

“All processes were slow and annoying due to the large number of patients waiting to be attended,” she said.

Habib, therefore, appealed to the association to always have patients in mind whenever contemplating to embark on strike actions.

In Kaduna, Secretary of the association, Dr. Abass Ajayi, said patients were being attended to as normal activities had resumed.

He assured that Doctors would do their best to ensure that all patients got the best services, without interruption.

Checks at the Federal Neuro Psychiatry Hospital, National Ear Care Centre and National Eye Centre in the state, indicated that Doctors had resumed work fully, as they were seen attending to patients.

Some of the patients said they were elated by the development as the Consultants were already exhausted.

One of them, Iliya Mallam, a patient at the Ear Care Centre, said the suspension gave him hope because lives would be saved.

He said that at the initial stage, patients did not feel the impact of the strike because Consultants were attending to them, but as the industrial action dragged on, services became skeletal.

On his part, Musa Aliyu, a patient at the Federal Neuro Psychiatry Hospital, said he faced minimal hardship as there were volunteers who assisted the Consultants during the strike.

In Kano, Resident Doctors working with the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH) also resumed work on Wednesday.

Dr. Mujahid Nur, President of the NARD, AKTH chapter, confirmed this development, saying the suspension of the strike was in compliance with the directive of National officials.

Also, Resident Doctors in Kebbi have resumed work fully at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Birnin Kebbi.

A patient at the hospital, Junaidu Tukur, expressed happiness over the suspension of strike, adding that he had gone to several private hospitals but was not satisfied with services rendered.

Malam Hussaini Maishago-Matankari, a resident of Birnin Kebbi, also expressed joy, explaining that he was in the hospital with his wife to see her Doctor.

“I am happy that my wife has been attended to; we have seen her file and the Doctor had asked that we should go for ultra-scanning, which we did, and brought the result to him,” he said.

In Zamfara, Dr. Abubakar Muhammad, Deputy Head of Clinical Services of Federal Medical Center, Gusau, said Doctors had resumed duty following the suspension of the strike.